Tutor, Tutor
by ofhustlersandastronauts
Summary: Sakuragi and Rukawa are now both sophomores - both with potential glittering careers in high school basketball, and both with horrible, horrible grades. What will they do to salvage their academics, so they can play for Shohoku in the Regionals?
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Look who's back! This was originally written in May, when I almost had my finals. Since I have a quiz on Monday, what better time to revive the Red Mark Army? It's an overused trope in the SD universe, but this is my take on it! This will somehow explore friendships rather than relationships, and I hope you guys enjoy it. :) Reviews are always welcome!**

* * *

 **Chapter 1**

 _Rukawa Kaede found himself on familiar territory: the slick wooden flooring of a basketball court, with three contenders staring him down, blocking his way to the hoop. Rukawa dribbled the ball, its steady staccato appeasing his ears as he sized up his opponents._

 _First, it was Sendoh Akira, with that annoying grin on his face. Gone, when Rukawa simply breezed by with a spin move, expertly dribbling the ball in total control._

 _Next up was Maki Shinichi, former MVP of Kanagawa, with the emphasis on former. Past his prime, as the Shohoku High ace bounced the ball between the former Kainan High point guard's legs, then easily retrieved it before Maki could paw it away._

 _And finally, the deceiving eyes of Sawakita Eiji, dubbed the best high school basketball player in Japan. The pair eased into a one-on-one stance, Rukawa carefully handling the ball. Rukawa flicked his eyes to the right, trying to fake. Sawakita barely flinched. Making a quick decision, Rukawa leapt into the air, sending the ball into a perfect arc towards the hoop._

 _"_ _Too high, it won't go in." Sawakita sneered, already tracing the ball's locus, as Rukawa landed._

 _"_ _It doesn't have to." Rukawa said, a hint of amusement in his quiet voice._

 _Sawakita turned around just in time to witness Akagi Takenori's gorilla dunk, so powerful that it reverberated throughout the arena._

* * *

Rukawa blinked his eyes open, still drowsy from his nap. The sun rays streaming in through the classroom windows was too bright, and the room itself too stuffy for a good nap. That dream he had was odd – why was his former team captain in it? – though it gave him some satisfaction that he'd beaten his rivals, with a play that they least expected, and that made him even more intrigued. Maybe he could work with Captain Miyagi for a couple of similar plays. That would definitely surprise their rivals, especially Ryonan High and Kainan High, because Rukawa, as Shohoku's ace, was well-known for his individualistic plays. It was probably time to change things up a little, since the regional spring tournament was approaching.

Rukawa sat up and yawned, oblivious to his surroundings. Now a sophomore, Rukawa was still sticking to his extensive nap schedule, as he had last year, sleeping anywhere, anytime, unless he was playing basketball.

Sleep was good for him. He always woke up feeling energized for daily team practices, and thanks to sleep, he grew a couple more inches over the winter; he was now the second tallest player on the team, after their center player, Sakuragi Hanamichi. Goodness knew that the Shohoku team needed all the height they needed to face off with the best teams in the prefecture – rumour was, Shoyo High had starters all taller than six feet. Shohoku's own Captain Miyagi wasn't going to grow any taller in time for the regionals (and he'd been one of the smallest on the team since he joined three years ago), and resident jokester Sakuragi would never let the senior hear the end of it.

Rukawa barely listened to the lesson still unfolding in front of the class, his vision focusing on the clock instead, hoping for the dull clang of the school bell to penetrate through the air. As if on cue, the school bell rang, signifying the end of the day. Mr Koike struggled to conclude his lecture as students scrambled for their belongings, ready to be let out after a long, long day of lessons. As soon as Mr Koike dismissed his class, Rukawa joined the surge of students heading for the exit, eager for basketball practice, but his teacher stopped him.

"Rukawa Kaede. I need to speak to you."

Everyone in Year 2 Class 10 left, leaving Rukawa and the elderly Mr Koike in the room.

"Had a good nap, Rukawa?" Mr Koike commented, a vein popping up on his forehead. Rukawa's face was as blank as ever, of course. "Looking forward for basketball practice?"

Only the rowdy chatter of students in the hallway could be heard.

"Here at Shohoku, we aim to provide a balanced education. Whether it's sports, or the arts, the faculty will always support all the extracurricular activities the students wish to partake, though I must emphasise that a well-rounded student will have a balance between academics as well as extracurriculars, which is why the school board has agreed upon the rule that students must pass their exams, in the event that they are selected to represent Shohoku High in competitions, because of course, academics will always be the most important priority, first and foremost…"

Rukawa was silently cursing the teacher for cutting off precious seconds of practice time. But he said nothing, almost falling asleep, unsure of the direction of the one-sided conversation, though he had a slight idea…

"Your grades aren't satisfying. We don't want a repeat of last year, do we?" Mr Koike smirked, raising an eyebrow.

Rukawa remembered what had happened. The basketball team had made it into the Nationals, but four of the starters – Mitsui, Miyagi, Sakuragi and Rukawa himself – had flunked their exams, threatening their positions on the basketball team. The four of them were the key players, who, together, had relentlessly worked to obtain the ticket to compete in the national tournament. So former Captain Akagi (the only one among the five starters who had actually done well in his exams) had asked (read: begged) the teachers for his teammates to make-up the exams, then made them pull an all-nighter to study, after a strenuous training session. Eventually they all did pass, and made it into the Nationals, playing their best basketball.

Rukawa sighed inwardly. Who cared about exams, anyway?

Summer was near, and so were the exams. In a few weeks, the regional playoffs would start, and Shohoku was one of the teams to beat.

"If you want to play basketball, you'd better get your grades up."

His teacher's words echoed throughout his basketball-muddled head.

True, his grades were horrible, and he'd half-expected to repeat his freshman year (which essentially meant more basketball, to him). So it was a miracle that he'd barely scraped by his last examinations, and could continue his second year in high school. Even so, he still slept throughout his classes, except for English, since he wanted to go to America, he figured that he'd better pay attention –

SMACK!

The basketball rebounded off his porcelain face, leaving a red mark on his cheek, and landed with a dull thud onto the floor.

"Rukawa! I'm sorry!" Yasuda hurried over to the ace. He was the one who'd hurled the ball into Rukawa's direction, expecting the sophomore to catch it cleanly and explode towards the basket like he normally would.

"No, senpai, it's my fault." Rukawa shrugged at his senior. He threw a sidelong glance at Sakuragi, who was practicing his basics in the corner and laughing at his misfortune.

"Take five, guys!" Captain Miyagi called out. For Rukawa to zone out on the court, even in the middle of a scrimmage, was something new. Maybe a break would help to clear the ace's mind. Besides, he knew that it would take a while to stop Sakuragi from his laughing bout. Times like this, Miyagi half-wished that former captain Akagi would magically appear from nowhere and unleash his infamous gorilla punch on the unruly Sakuragi, though Akagi had graduated from high school a while ago.

"You okay, Rukawa?" Ayako, the team manager, called out from the sidelines, slapping Sakuragi's head with her paper fan to keep him in check.

Rukawa didn't answer her, grabbing a water bottle instead. His cheek still stung from Yasuda's miscalculated pass. Of all things, something his teacher said was distracting him on-court, and decided to solve the problem soon. Nothing was going to stop him from getting his goals.

 _To lead Shohoku to the national championship, to become the best high school basketball player in all of Japan._

But to achieve all that, he had to get his grades up.

"Hey everyone! Sorry I'm late, I had an extra class…" The team's second manager, Akagi Haruko, burst into the gym. The little sister of the former basketball team captain, she loved her job and had eased into her role easily, under Ayako's guidance. Haruko noticed Rukawa's red cheek straight away. "Rukawa-kun, your cheek…"

"Haruko-san!" Sakuragi bounded over to her immediately. "The fox couldn't even catch a simple pass, what an amateur! NYAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" As observant as Haruko was about all things Rukawa, she wasn't aware of the worst-kept secret in Shohoku: Sakuragi Hanamichi's immense crush on her. The redhead still had a sliver of hope that Haruko would one day, magically forget about Rukawa and fall in love with him, the Tensai.

Haruko still had her attention on Rukawa. "Do you need ice, Rukawa-kun?" She asked tentatively, longing to touch his throbbing cheek to measure the extent of the damage. But she kept her hands balled at her sides.

Rukawa shook his head and walked over to Miyagi. The small captain was partly surprised as the naturally lonesome ace requested to speak to him. It wasn't every day that the tall, raven-haired boy shared his doubts with anyone. Rukawa conveyed his academic predicament to Miyagi, using as minimal words as possible. As Miyagi listened to the sophomore, his eyebrows scrunched as he thought of the consequences.

 _We simply can't lose our ace player with regionals coming up soon, especially not to something as petty as this…_

Miyagi suddenly had a lightbulb moment, based off his personal experiences. "Why don't you go for tutoring, Rukawa? It might help you…" Miyagi's thoughts drifted over to Ayako, his features softening. Ayako had been helping Miyagi in his studies since last year, and it had been a dream come true for him, to spend more time with the girl that he'd liked since forever. And this time around, his academic performance was actually improving. If it helped Miyagi, it would certainly help Rukawa. _And Aya-chan is so smart…and beautiful…_ Miyagi was already lost in thought, his eyes glazing over.

"Captain."

Miyagi snapped out of his momentary reverie, a sheen of blush creeping onto his face. "Maybe you could ask Haruko to tutor you, since the both of you are in the same year. Just a suggestion." No way that Miyagi was going to share _his_ Aya-chan with anybody else!

Rukawa weighed his options.

 _No grades, no basketball_.

Actually, there weren't any. He was at a loss, and he couldn't imagine not playing basketball. It was the best bet he had out there, and worth a shot. He was Rukawa Kaede, and he would do anything possible to play basketball, his one and only love.

"I'll ask her later." Rukawa muttered, his eyes flicking over to Haruko, who was talking to Ayako. Miyagi wasn't listening, looking in the same direction, doe-eyed over Ayako. Rukawa sighed and walked off, ignoring his love-sick captain, and started practicing his jump shots.

Basketball practice passed by in a blur. Miyagi dismissed his team soon enough, already looking forward for his daily tutoring session with Ayako.

"Sorry, Ryota. I've got a family thing going on tonight, so you've gotta do your homework on your own." Ayako smiled apologetically at Miyagi. Seeing the captain's crestfallen expression, she was quick to come up with a suggestion. "Maybe you and Yasuda can get together for a discussion?" Yasuda occasionally joined Miyagi and Ayako in their study sessions, since the three of them were seniors.

"Of course, Aya-chan!" For Miyagi, anything she said, goes.

Meanwhile, Rukawa was still deliberating on how to approach Haruko, who was engaged in conversation with Sakuragi. Hell, he wasn't going to ask her in front of that idiot. His gaze focused sharply on the redhead's shockingly red hair, willing him to leave as soon as possible.

"Oi, fox. What are you looking at?" Sakuragi turned to Rukawa, sensing that the ace was looking at him. He was annoyed that Rukawa was inadvertently invading his one-on-one time with Haruko.

"Hey, Hanamichi! You done with practice yet?" Sakuragi's best friend, Mito Yohei, called out to him. "We're gonna go get food, wanna come?" The rest of Sakuragi's friends, Noma, Takamiya and Ookutsu were fooling around, teasing each other behind Mito.

Sakuragi's ears perked up at the mention of food, momentarily forgetting about Haruko. He was starving, of course, since Miyagi had worked his team down to the bone during practice earlier. "Of course I'm coming! You guys are paying, right?"

"Not if you get there first!" Ookutsu retorted. And like Cheshire cats, the four of them disappeared with their mischievous grins.

"You guys! Wait up!" Sakuragi yelled angrily. His friends knew how to tick him off. He frantically grabbed his things and raced after them, only to stop at the exit. "Haruko-san, wanna come?"

Haruko shook her head. "Go ahead, Sakuragi-kun. I've still got things to finish up here."

The redhead was gone in a flash.

 _Good riddance, idiot._ Rukawa rolled his eyes at Sakuragi's antics. He shifted uncomfortably when he realised that Haruko was looking at him expectantly.

"Do you need anything, Rukawa-kun?"

His ego said _no,_ and willed his himself to ignore the younger Akagi and walk away like nothing had happened. But his rationale urged him to seek help; he needed to save his grades, otherwise, he'd be banned from basketball for the rest of the school year. He couldn't imagine anything like that. Rukawa suddenly remembered that Haruko was the one who'd tutored him for the resit exams last year, much to Sakuragi's annoyance. He did pass the resit exams, performing much better than he'd expected, considering the fact that he was half-asleep when Haruko had explained something or other that he couldn't even remember now.

He felt a sense of déjà vu, where his basketball prospects were on the line due to his poor academic performance. Only that last year, it had been more pressing since he was due to play in the Nationals. This year, he had the chance to salvage everything. Mr Koike had somewhat given him a head start, considering that the nearest exams would be the midterms, which was conveniently scheduled close to the Regionals. If he did well, he wouldn't even have to retake the exams, and obviously, that meant more time for basketball.

Swallowing his ego, Rukawa faced Haruko and found his voice.

"I need you to tutor me."

 _ **to be continued**_


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's rambles: to all my lovely reviewers, thanks for all the love.**

 **Guest (Oct 31): oooh hello fellow RuHaru shipper! Hahaha nope there won't be RuHaru in this fic. Thanks for reading!** ** _Shameless promo: I do have other RuHaru fics as well, check them out ;)_**

 **Guest (Nov 6): Well, some interesting characters do appear in this chapter, just not the seniors...also they've all graduated, but Akagi, Kogure and especially Mitsui may feature in the later chapters! Stay tuned :)**

 **Sorry this update couldn't come sooner (i have finals next week haha) but hey it's up now and please enjoy the story!**

* * *

 **Chapter 2**

Miyagi Ryota ambled casually into the Shohoku school compound that bright Wednesday morning. Basketball season was near, and the senior wanted to make his last summer count. He hadn't been involved in any brawls for over a year (unless you counted the stupid little squabbles with Sakuragi, which could get minorly physical); his grades were actually worth bragging about, thanks to the _beautiful and smart_ Ayako, and he was working to become the best point guard in Kanagawa (he liked to think that he already was, ever since Maki and Fujima retired).

Life was good.

Too good.

"Miyagi!"

Miyagi shut his locker door and looked around. Mr Yoshimoto, who'd taught him last year, stood before him.

"Good morning, sensei." Miyagi bowed his head in respect for the older man.

Mr Yoshimoto smiled back at him, his wrinkles made even more prominent by the gesture. "I know the basketball team is aiming to enter the Nationals again this year, and we're all looking forward to that."

The Shohoku basketball team, formerly minnows in the regional competitions, had been hailed as heroes when they booked a seat to enter the Nationals last summer. For Shohoku to make it all the way to the Nationals alone was a dream come true. But they had gone above and beyond their true limits when they'd conquered three-time champions Sannoh High in the second round.

"Thank you." A smile crept over Miyagi's face.

"Your teammate, Sakuragi Hanamichi. I'm his teacher now." Mr Yoshimoto started off.

A tingle of dread ran down Miyagi's spine. _Oh, no, what has that idiot done this time…_

"He's already falling behind in class. And you know, school regulations…"

"I know, sensei." Miyagi retorted somewhat sharply. First Rukawa, now Sakuragi. He was familiar with the ridiculous rule the school had, and he definitely didn't want to beg to the teachers for resit examinations like Captain Akagi had last year, to save the basketball team.

"If he fails his exams…"

"I won't let that happen." Miyagi interjected. How he was going to do it, he wasn't sure yet, but he knew for sure that the redheaded rebounder was definitely making his comeback in the Regionals. Besides, Sakuragi was now an important asset to the team, as Akagi's successor as the team center, his presence under the basket was greatly needed. No one else on the team was as tall as Sakuragi, apart from Rukawa, so if Sakuragi couldn't play, the whole team would be in jeopardy. Apart from Kakuta, who was an average center player at the least, no one could really replace the redhead's role on the team.

"Good. I'll tell Sakuragi later, that he needs to buck up in his studies. As his teacher, I'll also do everything I can to help him." Mr Yoshimoto said in a reassuring tone.

Miyagi nodded mutely. Sakuragi was actually _beyond_ help, but who knew? Maybe they could somehow guide the redhead in question to a passing grade, which was enough for him to appear in the regional tournament. If Sakuragi could master basketball in a few solid months – even perfected the jump shot in just a week – he could probably perform better academically, as well.

Probably.

"Just thought you should know, as captain. Coach Anzai has also been made aware of this situation." Mr Yoshimoto said. "Good luck."

Miyagi nodded. "Thank you, Yoshimoto-sensei." He definitely was going to need all of the luck to actually make Sakuragi pass his exams. The older man smiled at his student and walked off.

"Ryota." Ayako called out from behind him. "What was that all about?" She'd witnessed the whole exchange between the basketball team captain and the teacher from her own locker, where she was swapping her shoes for her indoor slippers.

"Aya-chan!" Miyagi grinned at her, forgetting about his conversation with Mr Yoshimoto. What a sight to behold, this early in the morning…

"You haven't gotten into trouble, have you?" Ayako narrowed her eyes at him.

Miyagi shook his head fervently. "No…that was about Sakuragi. Yoshimoto-sensei's his teacher now, and he said that Sakuragi's failing his classes, and you know what happens." The pair started walking towards their classroom, weaving through the throng of students milling around the corridors before class.

Ayako sighed. Just yesterday, Miyagi had told her about Rukawa, and now the same thing was happening to Sakuragi. And right before regionals, too! Those boys were just frustratingly stubborn, careless about their academics. She was already planning on tutoring all of them; Miyagi, Rukawa, and Sakuragi, but oh, she had to revise on her own, too…maybe Yasuda could help out? The bull-headed Sakuragi was a handful to control. It was one thing to set him in a corner to reinforce his basics, to which he complained to no end, since he was a (self-proclaimed) Tensai. Ayako didn't want to imagine if she tried sitting him down with a page of maths problems. Her paper fan would probably be battered by the end of the day…

"I guess we could set up a few tutoring sessions for Rukawa and Sakuragi." Ayako voiced out her suggestion, a hint of doubt in her voice.

"Well, I told Rukawa to ask Haruko to tutor him." Miyagi let Ayako through the classroom door first, holding it open for her. "No idea how's that working out, though."

Miyagi's words took Ayako by surprise – the arrangement was somewhat expected, yet unexpected. Miyagi's idea for a literal ray of sunshine to tutor a walking ice block left her with mixed feelings - relieved that Rukawa was getting help, but worried about Haruko at the same time."I'll ask Haruko about it later." Ayako said, as Miyagi slid into his seat by the window. He shrugged, and she took her own seat a few rows away.

"Of all the things to be worried about…" Ayako sighed as the school bell rang, indicating the start of the school day.

* * *

"Good afternoon!"

"Good afternoon, everyone!" Ayako smiled back at the freshmen who were mopping the gym floor to a shine. Practice was about to start, and the rest of the team were trickling in, greeting each other. Rukawa was already warming up on his own in the corner, detached from everyone else as usual.

"Hey, Aya-chan." Miyagi appeared next to the team manager.

"Oh, Ryota, I managed to ask Haruko during lunch. She says everything's going well with Rukawa's tutoring." Ayako said, remembering the shade of crimson staining Haruko's cheeks had turned at the mention of Rukawa's name. Haruko's face had turned even more crimson as humanly possible when Ayako had teased her about the tutoring arrangement, knowing that Haruko's crush on the ace had never wavered. The fact that Rukawa actually went through with Miyagi's suggestion surprised Ayako, but she supposed that it was one less thing to worry about.

"I guess we'll leave them alone, then. I don't think Haruko can handle tutoring both Rukawa and Sakuragi." Miyagi remarked. He was already imagining Rukawa and Sakuragi attempting to kill each other, while Haruko watched helplessly. Sakuragi would probably insult the quiet ace, and Rukawa, along with his ego and equal stubbornness, wouldn't back down from a fight. Miyagi felt that the current arrangement between Rukawa and Haruko was already somewhat perfect (it _was_ his idea, after all), he just needed a different plan for Sakuragi.

"Good afternoon!" The three other sophomores on the team, Ishii, Sasaoka, and Kuwata, greeted the seniors as they entered the gym. Ayako greeted them with a smile, as Miyagi nodded back in acknowledgement.

A lightbulb went on in Miyagi's head. "Hey, you guys." He called the three sophomores over. "Your grades are okay, right?"

If the sophomores were surprised, they didn't show it. Usually, Captain Miyagi pulled them aside to talk about basketball strategies, never about studies.

"Yep." Kuwata replied for the three of them. Though they weren't at the top of the class, the three of them had pretty decent grades. After all, they prioritised their academics. Basketball was a side thing for them, initially, but now that Shohoku was one of the top teams in the prefecture, the three of them took the extra effort to practice. Kuwata was Miyagi's understudy, while Ishii worked hard to emulate former sharpshooter Mitsui. Sasaoka proved that his mid-range jumpers were effective, and had seen some playing time. That was how much the three of them had grown as basketball players - though none of them were as talented as Rukawa or as athletic as Sakuragi, their hard work paid off.

"That's cool." Miyagi rubbed his chin in thought, trying to string together an appropriate sentence for his intentions. "How do you guys study?"

This time, the bespectacled Ishii stepped up. "We usually have a study group, you know, discussions about homework. We help each other out that way."

"Do you guys mind if I asked someone to join your group?" Miyagi asked bluntly. There was no time to beat around the bush; practice was due to start soon. Ayako raised an eyebrow at Miyagi's request, knowing the direction of the conversation, thinking that it could be the best alternative solution.

Ishii and Kuwata looked at each other, while Sasaoka looked at his captain questioningly. "Who is it?" He asked, though he had a faint idea…

"ORE WA TENSAI BASKETOMAN!" As if on cue, the man of the hour, Sakuragi Hanamichi, appeared, jovially singing his self-composed Tensai song.

"It's just Sakuragi." Miyagi replied, ignoring the commotion behind him as Ayako slapped Sakuragi's head with her omnipresent paper fan to shut him up. Rukawa rolled his eyes and sighed, prompting Sakuragi to yell at the ace in reiteration.

Miyagi quickly explained the situation to his juniors, who were sweatdropping at the usual drama in the background. Yasuda and Kakuta were trying to restrain Sakuragi from attacking Rukawa with all their might; as the ace calmly walked off to the other end of the gym, actively ignoring the insults Sakuragi flung at him. Another normal day for the Shohoku team practice…

"So, will you guys help out?" Miyagi concluded his explanation and raised an eyebrow, looking at the three sophomores.

 **to be continued!**

 **A/N: Show some love to the three (former) benchwarmers! Any thoughts? :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Here is Chapter 3, starring Sakuragi, featuring the (former) benchwarmers - Kuwata, Ishii, and Sasaoka. They don't really show up much in the anime/manga so their personalities are just what I think they're like. Plus they need some love, too, so bear with them in this chapter! Right now the story's a bit more centred around Sakuragi, so Rukawa fans would have to wait a bit... I'll try to update more frequently in the future!**

 **Reviews:**

 **mrsklemzak: You always have the best ideas! I'll try to integrate your input into future chapters. Your feedback is the best, the type that I always look out for. Thank you so much! :)**

 **Little Ms Pumpkin: Here's a new chapter and I hope you enjoy it!**

 **aznpikachu215: I do love the basketball in the anime/manga, since that's the central point of the story there. So it's up to us fans to imagine what they do besides basketball, haha. Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy the story!**

 **Happy holidays, everyone! :)**

* * *

 **Chapter 3**

"I don't see why this Tensai needs to go for tutoring." Sakuragi grumbled. He was walking back from basketball practice with Ishii, Kuwata and Sasaoka. The quartet were heading for Sasaoka's house for their study group, which met three nights a week. Tonight was the first time Sakuragi was joining the other three sophomores, since Miyagi had roped him into the arrangement with no way out just a while ago, the moment practice ended. Initially, Sakuragi had outright refused to even entertain the idea of tutoring, but Ayako had mentioned something about Rukawa failing his classes…

With renewed vigour, Sakuragi's competitive fire had been ignited; he'd enthusiastically agreed to Miyagi's idea, as if _he_ was the one who'd suggested it in the first place. He, Sakuragi Hanamichi, the Tensai, was going to be a million times better than that fox! But now, he'd been relegated to hanging out with these commoners, and his spirit had dampened once again.

"Well, if you don't get good grades, the school won't let you play basketball." Ishii pointed out.

"Are you saying that this Tensai is stupid?" Sakuragi shot back sharply.

"I didn't say that!" Ishii replied quickly, remembering the redhead's temperament.

"Don't worry, Sakuragi. We'll be helping each other out with today's homework, that's what we usually do. It's not a proper tutoring session." Kuwata countered, smiling at Sakuragi. "Besides, it'll be good bonding for us sophomores."

"Hmmm." Sakuragi rubbed his chin, deep in thought. "If you put it that way…"

Kuwata sighed inwardly in relief. Ishii had decided to clam up for the rest of the journey, in fear of arousing the redhead's anger once again, and Sasaoka was one of the shy ones and barely said a word. Finally, Sasaoka announced that they had arrived after another ten minutes of walking in silence. Kuwata grinned at Sakuragi to appease him, but the center had a blank look on his face, unsure of what to expect.

"I'm home." Sasaoka called out, removing his shoes. Ishii and Kuwata, who were regulars at Sasaoka's on Wednesday nights, followed suit, leaving Sakuragi awkwardly fumbling at the back.

"Welcome back, Satoro." His mother greeted him with a smile. "Hello, Ishii-kun, Kuwata-kun." Her eyes fell onto the redheaded giant towering at the back of the group. "Satoro, who's your new friend?"

 _His hair is so red!_ Mrs Sasaoka almost voiced out her thoughts, but managed to hold onto her tongue, eyeballing Sakuragi's intense red hair.

"Mum, that's Sakuragi Hanamichi. He's on the basketball team as well, and he's joining our study group." Sasaoka explained. He turned to Sakuragi, and introduced his mother.

"Welcome, Sakuragi-kun. Come on in, everyone. Make yourselves at home." Mrs Sasaoka invited them in with another smile, then disappeared to the kitchen, but not before one last glance at Sakuragi's shockingly red hair.

"Your mother's nice, benchwarmer." Sakuragi commented, looking around the hallways, taking in the atmosphere. Sasaoka simply nodded and led his friends to the living room. "Your house is nice, too!" A thin smile adorned Sasaoka's face.

"Well, I guess we can get started." Sasaoka said, inviting his friends to sit at the coffee table. The four of them sat on cushions, and Sakuragi glanced around as the other three boys took out the day's homework. Since he was the Tensai, Sakuragi never wrote down his notes, let alone carry around a notebook! Scrambling around in his book bag, Sakuragi found a crumpled-up maths worksheet that was due yesterday. He smoothed it out onto the table, a satisfied grin creeping onto his face.

"So you want to do maths first, Sakuragi?" Kuwata had been watching the redhead's actions. Ishii and Sasaoka were already bent over their books, pen scratching on paper, immersed in that day's essay assignment.

"Do you need help with maths? Of course the Tensai can help you!" Sakuragi laughed.

Kuwata sweatdropped. "I'm here to help _you_ , Sakuragi. I've done my assignments, anyway. But it wouldn't hurt to revise, I suppose."

"I can do this on my own, Shorty." Sakuragi snatched his crumpled worksheet off the table and started perusing it. Kuwata shrugged and turned back to his own work.

Ten seconds later, Sakuragi poked Kuwata's shoulder. "What does this mean?" He jabbed a finger at a figure on the paper. Kuwata explained it effortlessly, and once he was done, Sakuragi nodded as if he knew it in the first place. Kuwata returned to his book, as Ishii and Sasaoka were wrapped up in a discussion on the history essay they were writing.

Another poke on Kuwata's shoulder. "Can I borrow a pen?" Sakuragi asked shamelessly, his grin unwavering.

"Here you go." Kuwata handed him a pen. As Sakuragi scribbled his name on his crumpled worksheet, Sasaoka's mother popped in, bearing a tray of hot tea and biscuits.

"Thank you, auntie!" The worksheet that the redhead had been writing on was all but forgotten, as he focused his entire attention on the food. "Studying makes me hungry!" He stuffed a couple of biscuits into his mouth. Mrs Sasaoka could only smile weakly at the redhead's outrageous antics, and retreated back to the kitchen once she served the boys. As Sakuragi chowed on the snacks, Ishii didn't want to point out that it had been barely five minutes, peering at the redhead from behind his thick glasses.

Not long after that, Sakuragi lay back, his tummy full. The biscuit saucers were empty – the other three boys didn't even touch the snacks – and Sakuragi drank the remnants of his tea. Letting out a burp, he scratched his head and looked at Kuwata. "Hey, Shorty, I don't think I can study anymore."

Luckily for Sakuragi (and everyone else in the house), Kuwata was a patient boy who also knew not to aggravate the tenacious redhead. "Are you sure, Sakuragi?"

Ishii and Sasaoka glanced at each other. Captain Miyagi had entrusted them to help Sakuragi in his studies, and they were failing miserably. "Miyagi-senpai said that if you don't study, the school won't let you play basketball." Sasaoka said quietly.

Sakuragi raised an eyebrow at the timely reminder, barely remembering the reason that he was here in the first place. He knew it had something to do with basketball and grades and that stinky fox Rukawa…

"And like we said earlier, we help each other out. We're teammates, remember?" Sasaoka continued, grabbing Sakuragi's full attention. The redhead scrambled over to Sasaoka's side, bundling him into a tight hug.

"Benchwarmer, you're absolutely right! You're lucky to be teammates with the Tensai." Sakuragi held the scrawny Sasaoka, almost suffocating the poor boy with his immense power. "You want to help me defeat Rukawa, don't you?" Sakuragi released Sasaoka from his embrace and stared at him. Sasaoka let out a nervous laugh in response.

Kuwata simply smiled at the redhead's unpredictable behaviour. "We'll help you, Sakuragi."

"Yes!" Leaping up to his feet, Sakuragi pumped his fists. He returned to his seat next to Kuwata, who was ready with Sakuragi's abandoned maths worksheet. For all of forty minutes, Kuwata patiently guided Sakuragi through the maths problems, dotted by interjections from the brainy Ishii. Sakuragi stared at the completed worksheet in amazement, it was an achievement for him! He slammed the paper back onto the table, laughing his loud Tensai laugh.

"That wasn't so bad, right, Sakuragi?" Kuwata grinned at the taller boy. Sasaoka looked up from his essay and offered a smile.

"Any more worksheets, Shorty? You can call me the Homework King!" Sakuragi laughed so loud that even Mrs Sasaoka could hear him from the kitchen, making her wonder what the boys were up to.

"Well, do you have any other homework?" Kuwata asked back.

Sakuragi racked his brain, trying to remember what had happened in class that day. He'd been daydreaming about Haruko all day (in various scenes where she admired his basketball skills when he defeated that stinky fox), and generally slacking at the back of the classroom with his best friend Mito Yohei. Mr Yoshimoto may have said something about homework for his science class, but it was only a vague memory in his head. He shrugged, looking back blankly at his teammates.

"It's best to come for study sessions prepared, Sakuragi." Sasaoka advised, capping his pen, finally done with his essay. "I have some extra maths practice problems, if you want."

"Bring it on, benchwarmer!" Sakuragi said, grinning confidently, waving his pen in the air for extra dramatic measure.

Sasaoka excused himself and left the room. Ishii leaned back, stretching his limbs and looked at Sakuragi. "Take a break. Your brain needs to rest after all that hard work."

"I know, Glasses Boy!" Sakuragi leapt to his feet and began an elaborate stretching routine.

Kuwata and Ishii fell into a conversation that Sakuragi ignored, opting to pace the room instead, judging the simple household décor, once he was done with his stretching. He was looking at an old family photo when Sasaoka returned soon enough with a bundle of worksheets, which lured Sakuragi back to the study table.

Sakuragi's focus was now unbreakable. When he set his mind to achieve a goal, he was relentless, and that was what was happening now. Sakuragi Hanamichi was actually taking an interest in his studies! He was going to pass his exams, play basketball in the Regionals, leading them to victory in the Nationals and impress Haruko! And somewhere along the way, the smelly loser fox Rukawa would bow down to his Tensai-ness. He was Sakuragi Hanamichi, the Rebound King and the Homework King, all rolled into one, thanks to his Tensai-ness!

"Matsui-san, you know, Haruko-san's friend…"

At the mention of Haruko's name, Sakuragi's ears magically enlarged, picking up onto his friends' conversation. He dropped his pen and turned his attention to the three other boys. "What's this about Haruko-san?" There was a tinge of jealousy and curiosity in his voice.

"You know her friend, Matsui?" Ishii asked, a cheeky grin on his face, waggling his eyebrows.

Sakuragi pictured the other two girls who were always with Haruko, and decided that Matsui was the shy one with the short hair. "What about her?"

"Our friend Kuwata wants to be friends with her." Sasaoka teased.

Sakuragi looked over at the curly-headed Kuwata, who was now blushing profusely. "Oh."

"I don't know how to talk to her, though, she's always with the other girls." Kuwata rambled on, getting redder by the moment. Sakuragi glanced at the smaller boy with concern in his eyes. He'd had his fair share of girl troubles, after all. He'd been rejected by fifty girls in junior high, a record that was unbreakable. It seemed that Sakuragi wasn't going to repeat the feat, having eyes for only Haruko, and filled his free time with basketball, a sport he once hated but now loved.

"It's okay, Shorty. Just talk to her, it'll be fine." Sakuragi said confidently. Seeing the determined look in the redhead's eyes, Kuwata felt reassured. "You would be lucky if she doesn't like that fox." Sakuragi's thoughts drifted over to Rukawa, who had the biggest female fan base in Shohoku, probably even in the whole prefecture. Simply thinking of his rival made him disgusted, yet motivated. "Ugh! I don't want to think of that fox! I'LL BEAT HIM." He returned to the worksheets Sasaoka had brought over, scribbling on the paper with such force that it almost tore in half.

The other three boys looked at each other, before looking back at Sakuragi, who was now focused on his work. Then as if on cue, they all resumed their work, the earlier conversation forgotten.

After all, they were teammates, looking to enter the Nationals once again – their future riding on their academic performance. And like on-court, their teamwork seamlessly integrated into their study session. For once, Sakuragi returned home that night with a brain saturated with maths formulas that seeped into his dreams.

 **to be continued...**

 **A/N: Pop a review below if you like (or dislike) where this is going!**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: first off, I'm sorry for the extra long hiatus on this story. If you're still reading, thank you, and here's another chapter! :)**

* * *

 **Chapter 4**

"Ryo-chin!" Sakuragi's voice boomed throughout the corridor, practically from a mile away. As if by magic, students skittered apart, sticking themselves to the walls, paving a direct pathway for the redhead to his target – his team captain, who was _just thinking_ how peaceful Thursday mornings were.

Miyagi froze in his tracks. Suddenly he was trapped in a headlock, by a jovial Sakuragi Hanamichi. "Hanamichi, let me go!"

Sakuragi had woken up on the right side of his bed that morning – roused from a dream where he was using his newly found maths powers to defeat Sendoh, Ryonan High's basketball captain. In his dream, Sendoh had claimed defeat by Sakuragi's genius use of the quadratic equation, and Haruko had been gazing at him longingly as a million fangirls cheered for him in the background.

"Hahaha, Ryo-chin! It's a good day, hahahaha!" Sakuragi let his captain go and practically skipped to his classroom. The Sakuragi Army, consisting of Mito Yohei, Noma Chuichirou, Ookutsu Yuji and Takamiya Nozomi, ambled along, having seen Sakuragi's abuse of his senior from afar.

"Yo, Ryo-chin!" Takamiya, the chubbiest among the four, greeted the senior. Miyagi grunted in response, muttering something about lack of respect for seniors.

"Hanamichi seems happy, eh?" Noma noted, playing with his moustache, watching the back of Sakuragi's distinct red head disappearing around a corner. Ookutsu nodded his blond head in agreement.

"Something good must have happened to him." Mito, Sakuragi's closest friend, said. Throughout the day, everyone could practically hear his rambunctious laugh echoing all over the school, eliciting annoyed reprimands from his teachers, though Mr Koike, his maths teacher, was thoroughly surprised when Sakuragi successfully demonstrated the use of the quadratic equation, which led to another round of Tensai laughter that shook the Shohoku school grounds that morning.

It was soon lunchtime, and everyone was heading to the cafeteria for a bite to eat. Sakuragi stopped mid-laugh as he recognized two heads – that of the curly-haired Ayako, free from her baseball cap, and Haruko's brown tresses – just ahead of him. He was about to call out to them when Ayako spoke.

"How are the tutoring sessions with Rukawa coming along?" Ayako asked Haruko, a hint of playfulness in her voice.

Of course, Haruko's immediate reaction was to blush at the mention of the ace's name; now it was almost like a reflex. "It's going really well! He's improved so much, in fact, he's even helping me with English!" Haruko couldn't hide the excitement from her voice.

Ayako smiled. "That's good to know. Still can't believe he asked you to tutor him in the first place, eh?" The older girl gently elbowed her junior.

The revelation struck into Sakuragi's brain. _Haruko-san is tutoring the fox?_

"Rukawa would like a cute and smart girl like you!" Ayako teased further, enjoying Haruko's reaction.

 _Like that fox even has emotions!_ Sakuragi was practically fuming by now, unbeknownst to the two girls ahead of him.

"Me? Ayako-san, I'm just plain. And my friend Fujii is the smartest in my year…" Haruko said, her voice thick with embarrassment.

Sakuragi didn't hear the rest of the conversation – he'd stormed off to the gym. His good mood, which had lasted all morning, was gone by now – oh, how he'd like to be in the fox's place, getting all the attention from Haruko! The ungrateful fox probably didn't care, snoozing and drooling when Haruko was teaching him important things like the quadratic equation. Which, he, Sakuragi Hanamichi the Genius Homework King, knew how to use.

The gym was empty as Sakuragi flung his shirt off, only wearing his undershirt, then marched to grab one of the balls, angrily bouncing it against the polished hardwood floor. He tried a couple of mid-range shots, trying to keep his mind off Haruko gazing at Rukawa with little hearts in her eyes, but his shots rebounded off the hoop from too much force. Leaping up, he easily snatched the ball mid-air, and slam dunked the orange sphere right through the hoop with the greatest force he could muster, mirroring his anger.

Breathing heavily, he hung off the hoop a little longer than necessary, when he heard a little gasp from the entrance of the gym. Sakuragi landed back onto the ground, turning to face the person, thinking that it was Haruko – she was the biggest fan of slam dunks (especially those made by a certain Rukawa Kaede). Instead, Sakuragi found himself looking at a shy girl with short hair, whom he knew was one of Haruko's closest friends.

"Sorry, Sakuragi-kun. That dunk, it was very powerful." The girl apologized for nothing, her face turning red as she looked down to the floor.

"Matsui-san."

She looked up at him confusedly and shook her head. "It's Fujii, actually."

"Oh." It was Sakuragi's turn to look at the floor, realising his mix-up. So the other girl who had long brown pigtails was actually Matsui, the girl that his teammates had been talking about during a lull in their study session last night. "Fujii-san."

His response elicited a shy smile on her face.

"Uh, Haruko-san's not here." Sakuragi stated the obvious, picking up the basketball he'd dunked earlier. He wondered what the girl was doing here, since Haruko seemed to always be with her two friends, inseparable.

"You're practicing hard, Sakuragi-kun." The little smile never left her lips. Her gentle demeanour had an effect on him, as his tensed muscles relaxed visibly.

"Just a little. I'm a Tensai!" He laughed, trying to spin the ball on his index finger - a trick he'd never really learned – and failed miserably as the ball bounced away. "Er, I meant for that to happen."

Fujii knelt down and caught the rolling ball. "It's nice to see your dedication to basketball. With you, Shohoku will definitely be number one in Kanagawa." She heaved the ball towards the hoop, but it came up short. In the blink of an eye, Sakuragi was already airborne, slamming the ball home.

"Alley-oop!" Sakuragi landed lightly on his feet, surprising for his large size.

"That was amazing!" Fujii looked at him in awe. To watch from the sidelines, as she did since the past year, was different. Being on court with him, he exuded confidence. It was his style of playing, she decided, the kind of plays that were simple, yet brought home the points. And Sakuragi's slam dunks were just…breathtakingly exciting. She'd been watching him evolve from a novice to a full-fledged basketballer over the past year – the back injury he'd picked up months ago during the Nationals seemed like it never happened. Sakuragi was definitely born to play basketball.

A silence hung in the atmosphere, as no one said anything. Sakuragi wasn't used to compliments from people other than Haruko, so he just stared at her. Here was a girl who actually thought that his slam dunk (and not that sleepy fox's) was amazing. But before he could say something, Fujii turned beet red, rushing to the exit, muttering something about lunch and classes.

And with that, he was left alone in the gym.

* * *

Sakuragi couldn't help but reflect the brief exchange he had with Fujii (not Matsui) in the gym during lunchtime. Personally he didn't know much about her – that he made the mistake of identifying her as Matsui, Haruko's other friend, the cynical one who wore her long brown hair in ponytails – only that she was quiet and shy, and was a constant presence at almost all of Shohoku's basketball games. He wondered, did she even witness the legendary game against Sannoh last summer? Of course, Haruko had been there all along, cheering for Shohoku since day one. Fujii seemed a little too bookish to be a sports fan, anyway. Besides, with her quiet voice, he could barely hear her speak.

"Hey, Sakuragi, it's almost time for practice." Ishii's reminder seemed like white noise to the redhead. Basketball practice was about to start in a few minutes, and the other members were already leaving the locker room for the gym. Sakuragi had yet to change, still wearing his school uniform, standing in front of his assigned locker like a mannequin as he remembered a titbit of information.

 _And my friend Fujii is the smartest in my year…_ Haruko had said, her words echoing in Sakuragi's head.

Haruko was tutoring the fox, so naturally, Sakuragi's competitive spirit was burning. If he couldn't get Haruko to tutor him, he resolved that he was still going to outshine that sneaky fox.

 _Maybe I could ask Fujii to tutor me,_ Sakuragi thought. _She is the smartest girl in our year…_

"Oi, Hanamichi, come on! We have practice!" Captain Miyagi barked from the locker room door. Everyone else was already vacating the room towards the gym, not wanting to face the wrath of the point guard.

Sakuragi ignored his senior, deep in thought. _And besides, if the smartest girl is tutoring me, I'll be as smart as she is! Then I can ace the exams and outshine the fox!_ A grin crept onto the redhead's face.

"Moron." Rukawa muttered, when he entered and saw the redhead smiling madly to himself. The ace grabbed his water bottle from his locker, and promptly left.

 _And when I outshine the fox, Haruko-san will like me!_ A victorious fanfare popped up in his head, as he formulated his genius plans. Sakuragi's logic was now clicking together, and he let out his famous Tensai laugh.

"Sakuragi Hanamichi! We have practice, stop lazing around!" As quick as lightning, a smoking welt formed where Ayako had hit him with her paper fan.

The senior team manager, who'd expected a grovelling Sakuragi, was surprised to see him with a determined glint in his eyes. After she berated him on punctuality, the redheaded sophomore actually bowed at her!

"Hurry up, then." Ayako was taken aback by the change in Sakuragi's actions. She left the locker room, only to meet Miyagi in the hallways.

"What's with that idiot, then?" Miyagi inquired. He still wasn't over Sakuragi's headlock in the corridor that morning – in fact, the side of his neck was slightly hurting, where the sophomore had grabbed him.

Ayako simply shook her head, and with a noncommittal shrug, headed over to the gym where the rest of the team was waiting.

 **to be continued!**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Guess what? Two chapters in one day! And this one is my favourite bc RuHaru action heheh ;) enjoy! Don't forget to leave a review!**

* * *

 **Chapter 5**

"I'm home!" Haruko called out in her usual cheerful manner, as she opened the door to her own house. As it had been for the past few days, Rukawa had been following her home after basketball practice for his daily tutoring session.

"Welcome back, Haruko." Her brother, Takenori, loomed at the front door. Haruko squealed in excitement when she saw him; it had been a while since he was home, due to his hectic university schedule. She rushed forward to hug her brother, leaving Rukawa at the behind, staring at their sibling affection. Takenori been waiting for his little sister to return, and he did not expect to see the ice block who was his former teammate, accompanying his baby sister home. He was aware that Haruko had a giant crush on the Shohoku ace since middle school, and now that he'd left for university, suddenly the two of them were together?

"Rukawa?" Takenori couldn't hide the question in his voice, as he released Haruko from his embrace.

"Senpai." Rukawa nodded back in respect, his face indifferent.

"Oniisan, Rukawa-kun is here to study with me." Haruko tried her best to keep her voice calm, though the creep of blush in her cheeks was unmistakable.

Takenori looked at his little sister, judging her explanation, then glanced over at the boy behind her. Well, based on last year's experience, Rukawa wasn't a star student. "Right. Come on in, Rukawa." He let the sophomores enter first, raising an eyebrow at Haruko, still sceptical. Haruko ignored her brother; he was always nosy in her personal life, anyway.

Mrs Akagi, the siblings' mother, called out from the back of the house. "Welcome home, Haruko. Is Rukawa-kun with you?"

"Yes, mother!" Haruko replied, leading Rukawa to the living room, with Takenori in their wake. "We're going to start studying first!"

As the sophomores settled down, Mrs Akagi appeared in the living room, looking all motherly, wearing an apron and a smile. "Hello, Rukawa-kun. Will you join us for dinner?"

Rukawa saw no point in refusing, as Mrs Akagi had asked him the same question every night since day one. "Yes, thank you, Mrs Akagi."

"Brilliant!" Mrs Akagi smiled cheerfully, that Rukawa could clearly see from whom Haruko had inherited her sunny personality. The older lady turned to her son. "Take, don't bother them. Come and help me set the table." She said, in a firm, no-nonsense tone – Takenori's captain voice, Rukawa realised, though Mrs Akagi didn't have to yell to emphasise her point. Takenori nodded, following his mother out of the living room, heading to the kitchen.

"Rukawa-kun, let's start off with maths…" Takenori heard his sister's gentle voice as he left, though he couldn't hear Rukawa's reply.

"Mum, how long has this been going on?" He looked as his mother, who was fussing over the steaming pot on the stove.

"Few days. Pass the salt, please, Take." Mrs Akagi took a slow sip of the broth that she was brewing. Takenori wordlessly handed her the salt, which she sprinkled into the dish. "Set the table for five, will you?"

"Right." Takenori, the ever-responsible child, obediently followed his mother's orders, though he was dissatisfied with his mother's vague reply. The two of them went about their tasks in silence, though Takenori really wanted to interrogate his mother further about Rukawa. His mind was spinning with questions about Haruko's relationship with his junior.

"Rukawa-kun's a nice boy." Mrs Akagi commented, as she ladled the steaming soup into a bowl. "He really likes basketball, though he doesn't talk much."

"He was my teammate last year." Takenori said, arranging the chopsticks on the table. "Mum…"

"Your father will be home soon, and we can all have dinner together." Mrs Akagi neatly cut her son off mid-sentence. She set the bowl of soup onto the dining table and smiled at her son, knowing exactly what he wanted, yet denying it at the same time.

Takenori could only nod, though he kept stealing furtive glances to the living room. He needed to supervise the sophomores; his brotherly instincts kicking into overprotective mode. He didn't trust anyone with his baby sister, even if it was Rukawa, that sleepy sloth, who only found life when he was on a scoring run on the basketball court. That was the only thing Takenori could trust Rukawa for.

"Take, stop worrying about Haru-chan and help me serve the dishes." His mother called out sharply, as if reading his mind. She knew that her son was fiercely protective of his little sister, and it helped a lot when the siblings were much younger. Mrs Akagi knew that Takenori could take care of his sister, and he'd taken it upon himself to become his sister's keeper, probably until the day she got married. Takenori complied to his mother's instructions; he didn't want to face his mother's wrath, which he'd ironically inherited.

"I'm home." A deep male voice chimed from the front door. The master of the household was finally home from work.

"Welcome home, daddy!" Haruko smiled at her father as he entered the living room to see the sophomores' progress.

"Hello, Mr Akagi." Rukawa said in his usual quiet manner, looking up from his work. Mr Akagi smiled at the boy.

"Thanks, Haru-chan." Mr Akagi planted a kiss on his daughter's head. "How are you, Rukawa-kun?"

"Fine, thank you."

"Welcome home, dad." Takenori made his appearance in the living room, throwing a quick glance at Haruko and Rukawa. A plume of irritation ticked in his brain when he saw that they were sitting too close, three feet away next to each other – he deemed that a distance of five feet was more acceptable under this circumstance. Maybe six feet…

"Ah, Take. Good to have you back. Come, let's not bother these two hardworking kids." Mr Akagi pushed his son back into the hallway, a valiant effort, due to Takenori's large build.

Half an hour passed. Haruko and Rukawa in the living room, studying. Mrs Akagi in the kitchen, finishing off the final touches for dessert. Mr Akagi upstairs, refreshing himself after a long day at work. And an anxious Takenori pacing the hallway, strategically right near the living room entrance.

 _Tch. What's senpai doing in the hallway…_ Rukawa thought, as Haruko explained a concept to him. Every now and then, Takenori's imposing figure would pass by, and Rukawa felt that it was distracting. Just when he thought that Haruko alone was already a distraction. He really didn't need her brother patrolling the hallway, as if he was going to jump her bones out of the blue!

Maybe he should, just to spite the former team captain. He suppressed a rare grin at the thought, as Haruko stopped her explanation and glanced at him. Rukawa lightly coughed, keeping his face straight like nothing had happened – and nothing had.

"Take, what are you doing?" Mr Akagi, now dressed casually, caught his son worrying in the hallway. He descended the stairs as Takenori froze in his spot, scrambling for an excuse. Laughing at his son's odd antics – Takenori was usually disciplined and calm – Mr Akagi just patted his shoulder. "Is dinner ready yet? I'm starving."

"Mum said that we were waiting for you." Takenori straightened his face.

"Good. Haru-chan, Rukawa-kun, dinner is ready!" Mr Akagi popped his head into the living room.

"Yes, daddy. Rukawa-kun, we'll continue after dinner?" Haruko put her pencil down, gently closing her textbook.

"Yep." Rukawa nodded, following Haruko to the dining room, where the rest of the family was waiting.

Dinner was a family affair, even with Rukawa's addition. Mr Akagi bombarded Rukawa about all things basketball, which the boy replied with his usual one-liners. Takenori took the chance to interrogate his former teammate about the current state of the basketball team.

"Regionals are in two weeks." Rukawa said. Takenori nodded; the little piece of information had been supplied to him by his little sister just last week, but somehow it felt more urgent and important when the ace pronounced the news.

"You guys need to win and make it to the Nationals." Takenori stated firmly. "Maybe Kogure and I would come and watch."

"Of course." No one else on the Shohoku team wanted it as much as Rukawa did. _To lead Shohoku to the national championship, to become the best high school basketball player in Japan._

Mrs Akagi, seemingly lost on all of the basketball talk – she wasn't a dedicated fan like everyone else in the room – shifted the focus to her son and his university life. Eventually it drifted back to basketball, since Takenori was on the college basketball team as a backup center player. Starting spots were hard to come by, even for Takenori, who was dubbed the best high school center player in Kanagawa just last year – apparently basketball at university level was a completely different stratosphere from high school. Rukawa listened intently to Takenori's description, hoping to pick up a few pointers here and there.

The discussion continued long after dinner was finished. Haruko helped her mother clear the empty plates to the kitchen. "It's nice to see them get along. And your brother, he's actually more relaxed now, talking about basketball."

"You're right, mum." Haruko glanced back at the scene in the dining room as she settled the dishes by the sink. Takenori was passionately describing a match stint, as Mr Akagi and Rukawa listened on. Haruko turned back to the sink, starting to wash the dishes, but her mother swatted her hands away.

"You still have work to do with Rukawa-kun, don't you?" Mrs Akagi said, with a hint of playfulness in her voice.

"Mum, he's still listening to big brother. Wouldn't it be rude to interrupt?" Haruko reasoned, nodding to the dining area.

"Go, before I change my mind." Mrs Akagi gently nudged her daughter away. "You know; this whole tutoring thing has gotten you off the chores."

"Thanks, mum." Haruko never really liked the chores, but she had an obligation to do them as a dutiful daughter – and getting a free pass from the tedious housework was practically every teenagers' dream. She hurried off to the dining room, where Rukawa was still rooted to his seat, immersed in Takenori's tales.

"Ah, Haru-chan needs her friend back." Mr Akagi cut in, as Haruko was still fumbling to string a coherent sentence to tear Rukawa away from the basketball discussion. "Go ahead, Rukawa-kun. Don't want to keep Haru-chan waiting."

Rukawa stood up and excused himself, silently reminding himself that the tutoring was _simply important_ in his basketball future. Takenori's insights on college basketball fuelled his will to play basketball competitively at a higher level. He was Rukawa Kaede – he wanted to be the very best, that no one ever was. But first, he needed to get good grades.

Takenori's eyes trailed the sophomores as they left the room.

"Take, don't be so uptight." Mr Akagi leaned back in his chair, satiated after a delicious meal. "They're just studying, after all, and Haru-chan can take care of herself."

Hearing his doubts voiced by his father, it seemed incredibly ridiculous for him to worry about something so petty. Takenori was only home for the weekend, to relax and spend time with his family, before he returned to the hectic life of a university student. He exhaled deeply, easing his worries. His father was right, anyway. Besides, if he could trust his former teammate on the court last year, he could trust him now.

"Also, just a heads up: get used to it." Mr Akagi stood up and left with an enigmatic grin.

* * *

Takenori glanced at the wall clock as he wiped his hands on a dish cloth. Since Haruko had been exempted from household chores to tutor Rukawa, he'd been helping his mother to scrub the used pots in the kitchen. It was getting late, and there was school on the next day, so Takenori took it upon himself to check on the sophomores.

"Rukawa, it's getting late." Takenori popped into the living room, and was shocked to see the scene before him.

Not in a million years that Akagi Takenori would imagine witnessing Rukawa teaching his little sister. And he'd always assumed that Haruko was brilliant at English!

"Just a little bit more and I'll be off." Rukawa glanced briefly at Takenori, before resuming his explanation.

Takenori made himself comfortable in an armchair, subtly keeping an eye on the pair while pretending to admire the décor – when had his mother put up framed photographs of Haruko and him as children on the wall? Rukawa summed up his explanation and quickly collected his belongings. He didn't need Haruko's brother to babysit them, besides, their session was over. He needed to get home for a well-deserved rest. It had been a long day for him: school, basketball practice, then these extra tutoring sessions.

"Leaving already, Rukawa-kun?" Mrs Akagi appeared in the hallway. The raven-haired boy only nodded in response. "Take care. Say hello to your parents for me."

Takenori followed Rukawa to the front door, as the latter put on his shoes. "See you around, Rukawa. Nice seeing you again."

"You too, senpai." Rukawa flicked his gaze over to Haruko, who was partially hidden by her brother's large stature. "Thanks, Haruko. Good night."

"Good night, Rukawa-kun." Haruko replied, watching his shadow disappear into the night.

 **to be continued!**


	6. Chapter 6

**_author's note: hi hello ffn! no, I have not given up on this story yet...here's a little brooding Rukawa..._  
**

 ** _and to those who are still reading, thank you so much. ^^_**

* * *

 **Chapter 6**

The sky was just a vast canvas of dark clouds tonight, ominously indicating rain. The stars were noticeably absent, and a slight wind whistled through the nearly-deserted Kanagawa streets. The town was slowly going to sleep, only the occasional bark of a dog or the rumble of a passing vehicle disrupting the comforting silence. Rukawa maintained his somewhat leisurely pace on the way back from Haruko's house after his study session – he wasn't in a hurry to return home. There was just a dark, empty house waiting for him after a long, tiring day.

Haruko's brother, Takenori, who was his former teammate, had made an appearance at the Akagi household, completing the family for the weekend. For the first time, Rukawa could see how seamless the interaction between the Akagi family members had been.

A stark contrast to his own family, if he could even call it one.

His mother was in France, his father in America. And here he was, all alone in Japan.

Being with the Akagi family made him compare how broken his own family was. He didn't remember his mother cooking for the family, and the last time his family had sat down together for dinner was probably ten years ago, when he was too young to remember all the details.

 _Say hello to your parents for me._ Mrs Akagi's parting words, attached with a smile – an exact copy of Haruko's - rung in his head.

How was he supposed to convey the message, considering the fact that both his parents didn't even care what he was doing with his life right now? He could've fallen off the tracks – hanging out with the yakuza, doing illicit activities all over Kanagawa, but if he did, he would have to give up basketball. And basketball was terribly important to Rukawa. The last time he'd seen his father was last year. His father had invited him to move over to America, which was why Rukawa had met Coach Anzai regarding the move, but the portly coach had told him not to. So Rukawa stayed on at Shohoku, with the thought that his father was probably busy with his company in New York anyway.

His mother was probably schmoozing with celebrities in Paris, riding off the high of her newfound success as an interior designer. She'd been home before the new school year had started, but had been busy with work calls. When she flew off for her latest designing project, Rukawa didn't really miss her that much, since he barely saw her – he was too caught up in his own basketball practice.

So was it a stab of envy, in his ice-cold heart, that he was jealous of Haruko's perfect family? Thinking of it, he was the polar opposite of the uber-cheerful Haruko, and it didn't only reflect on their personalities, now family was included in the extensive list of differences between the sophomores.

His warbled thoughts drifted over to when his family was still somewhat intact, when he was still a young boy, starry-eyed over the world.

Back then, his grandmother had been alive, and she was the one who took care of him, and as he grew older, their roles reversed. His grandmother was the one who'd encouraged him to play basketball; the only one in his family who had believed in his talents and dreams to become a professional basketball player.

 _"_ _Kae, it's getting late, let's go home."_

 _"_ _Grandma, just a few more shots. I want to be the best basketball player in the world, so I need to practice hard!"_

 _"_ _Alright, then." She smiled at her grandson, so young yet so determined._

Almost every weekend she would accompany ten-year-old Rukawa to the basketball court in the town park, so he could play – sometimes alone, most times with the assortment of middle-schoolers looking for a quick street game. From there, he honed his skills from playing basketball, and also from the occasional fistfight that would break out between the boys without warning. Once too often, Rukawa's grandmother had to play nurse for her only grandson, cleaning up his wounds from basketball and the petty fights – all without his parents ever noticing.

His only memory of his parents being amicable was _never._ When they were together, they'd always squabble about the littlest things imaginable, and these would just escalate into a full-blown blame game. The cracks had always been there; until one day it just broke.

When Rukawa entered Tomigaoka Middle School, his father announced to the family that he had the chance to work in America. Rukawa remembered how his parents had argued through the night trying to figure out a suitable arrangement to accommodate everyone's needs – it had ended in the worst way possible, as his father left the house to drink his woes away, slamming the door into his mother's crying silhouette in the corridor. The day after, his father packed his bags and left for the other side of the world, leaving a young Rukawa with his astounded grandmother and stricken mother. His mother started drowning herself in work – unconsciously trying to prove herself to her estranged husband. Rukawa's father would occasionally call home, asking about his basketball progress with a distant voice. Small talk was useless with his father – Rukawa began limiting his words, shutting his father from his world.

His mother was making a name for herself in interior designing, then her big break came. She was poised to design for some major superstar in Europe. Work was her first priority, and she flew off after a hasty goodbye to thirteen-year-old Rukawa and his ailing grandmother. By then, he was committed to basketball, practicing regularly, though he kept an eye on his grandmother. Even in her poor state of health, she still made an effort to attend Rukawa's basketball games, marvelling at her grandson's rapid growth as a player.

One day, Rukawa, the captain of the Tomigaoka basketball team, left the house for the regional semi-finals. He was the one who carried the team, with his explosive scoring drive – rumours were rife that Coach Taoka of the renowned Ryonan High was trying to recruit him – but as he left for his match, he couldn't help but worry for his grandmother. She had a fever since the night before, and Rukawa tried to get her to the doctor. But the elderly lady had declined, shrugging off her fever as much less important than Rukawa's match scheduled for the next day. Rukawa played his heart out for the match, scoring his best run yet, winning the match for his team. After the game, he barely hung around for the team celebrations – not that he bothered, anyway - then rushed home to attend to his grandmother and deliver her the good news.

The next few hours seemed so lucid to Rukawa – the ambulance, the spotless hospital corridors, the eternal wait for the doctor's prognosis. Everything had been so surreal then, and it still was now. When the doctor, with his bone-white lab coat swishing around, had pronounced his grandmother deceased, his entire world fell apart. Now basketball was all that he had left.

Life had gotten to Rukawa, turning him ice-cold. Ever since, nothing had ever been the same – the only constant was his parents' absence, as it had been then.

The one time they'd appeared in his life once more was at his grandmother's funeral. It had been a grim affair, a small ceremony. Rukawa had steeled himself, trying not to cry over the loss of his closest family member. His parents had both been distant and distracted on the occasion, almost like strangers. And to make matters worse, they'd started squabbling the moment the ceremony ended. He was glad when they'd went on their separate ways, leaving him alone in the house which he used to share with his grandmother.

He withdrew himself from the world, drowning himself in basketball – the same way his parents did with their work – because he vowed that he was going to be the best. He wasn't going to break his promise to his grandmother. Too soon, he found himself standing in front of the house he used to call home, dark and desolate compared to the welcoming warmth of the Akagi residence. He let himself in, locking the door behind him, sighing almost resignedly. Delicious sleep was calling to him right now, and one thought popped in his head as he landed on his comfortable bed.

Rukawa Kaede was going to be the best basketball player in the entire world…

…only if he could somewhat pass his school exams.

 _ **to be continued!**_


End file.
